The 'Million Student March' Is Happening

In this Nov. 24, 2014, file photo, students march under Sather Gate during a protest against tuition increases at the University of California-Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

(Newser)
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Across the country Thursday, students will be walking out of classrooms as part of the "Million Student March." The demonstrations were planned as a protest against student loan debt, with students calling for not only tuition-free education at public colleges and forgiveness of student loans, but also for a $15 minimum wage for students who work on campus, Reuters reports. "Education should be free. The United States is the richest country in the world, yet students have to take on crippling debt in order to get a college education," the organizers say on the march's website. Reuters notes that US student loan debt currently sits at $1.2 trillion.

Thousands have pledged, via Facebook, to participate, and according to ThinkProgress, organizers say 110 college campuses will take part, with the largest marches expected in Santa Barbara (Calif.), New York City, Philadelphia, Portland (Ore.), and Seattle. One of the organizers notes that certain individual marches may add their own focuses, like better pay for adjunct professors. "There is a serious concentration of wealth right now in college campuses, and administrators are making exponentially more than the average worker on campus," she says. She adds that, eventually, organizers hope to fight not just for free tuition, but for zero fees, free textbooks, and free housing. (Bernie Sanders reportedly backs the march.)

All I can think of is the song: If you're walking 'round think'n that the world owes you something 'cause you're here You goin' out the world backwards like you did when you first come here yeah Staple Singers., "Resepect Yourself"

Rip

Nov 13, 2015 7:18 AM CST

Gotta love the rush for people to protect the poor bankers. Student debt is a rigged system. The government subsidizes loans. The government gives the loan providers special protection so the debt cannot be wiped out through bankruptcy. The government gives special protection to the loan providers so that even if the person becomes disabled and can never pay back the loan....money is deducted from the person's Social Security benefits. The government allows for the institutions endowments to be tax free....no matter that they sit on massive wealth that would mean the institutions wouldn't even need to charge tuition. The government gives tax breaks to those who donate more money to the institutions that sit on this massive wealth. And what is the money spent on? There's no rules to ensure what percentage of the money goes to the students education. No guarantee of benefits to employees of the school. No limits placed on what wealth can be directed to the high level officials and board members of the school. No guarantee of what level of job placement assistance the students get. No protection on what the institutions can spend this massive accumulation of wealth on. And despite accepting public money, the institutions are allowed to participate in "legacy" systems where preference is given to the offspring of alumni and donors regardless of the kids academic credentials. We just can't become an oligarchy fast enough for some.

Mark82

Nov 13, 2015 1:03 AM CST

Dumb. Give me free college, pay my loan, pay me $15 for a job a high schooler could do. Really? the government should pay my house loan and for my vacation while they are at it.